In order to protect the body of a person from harmful effects during activity in a poisoned atmosphere or an atmosphere otherwise enriched with harmful substances, protective suits or hoods suitable for that purpose are known, which can be placed in a gastight and/or watertight manner over the entire body. They are tailored so that even breathing apparatus and/or a breathing mask corresponding thereto can be worn under the protective suit. For stepping into this protective suit, a sufficiently wide opening must be provided for which, for example, a zipper is incorporated into a path guide favorable for this purpose. In order to make it possible to conveniently step into and, after completed use, to make it possible to step out as easily as possible, the course of the zipper must be so designed that unfolding of the open suit is accomplished in as unhindered a manner as possible with the wearer of the suit not coming into contact with the dirtied outer surface. This is particularly necessary when additional equipment must be carried on the body under the protective suit such, for example, as is necessary for use for the rigorous breathing protection for firemen, divers, miners, or also pilots, who need an ABC protective suit.
For the course of the zipper required for the foregoing, there often occur, in addition to straight segments, also curved indirect paths extending around body areas.
A protective suit of this kind is known from the publication "Gas Protection Suit 600 PF", Operating Manual 2536.3, First Edition, January 1980, Dragerwerk AG, Lubeck, Federal Republic of Germany, and is, moreover, described in an article entitled "Gasschutzanzuge-Typenauswahl und Konstruktionskriterien" by Hans-Joachim Walther published in the German journal "Dragerheft", No. 312, pages 5 to 13, September/December 1978.
The known protective suit has a zipper which is led, starting from the right leg side, across the chest to the shoulder and from there transversely across the entire width of the head hood. Other line directions of similar protective suits run transversely on the front side of the suit and are led to the shoulder up to a rearward component region. Special difficulties are encountered when operating the zippers in those sections where they do not run straight but extend along a curved indirect path. There, the slide must be pushed directly by hand. For locations which the suit wearer cannot reach, he thus must bring in another person for assistance. During use, emergency situations may nonetheless arise for which a fast opening, for example, in the head region of the protective suit becomes necessary. Such an emergency can arise in that in the region of the breathing mask, a fit correction must be performed or a fast removal of the breathing mask is necessary, for example, in the case of a suddenly occurring nausea. Such emergencies may however also occur when the suit wearer, because of an irritation in the face area, is prevented from carefully carrying out his activity. He then is anxious to eliminate this irritation or also to effect the correction of the fit of the mask as fast as possible, where he may readily panic if freeing the head region from the protective suit can be carried out only with complications or with outside assistance which is not immediately available. Other regions to which the suit wearer must have access as quickly as possible without the zipper having to be opened in an involved manner are to be found in the vicinity of the breathing apparatus carried on the back.